Oldest Store Museum

The Oldest Store Museum was built as an effort to preserve and catalog the considerable amount of the 19th and 20th century American memorabilia that was sitting there. The museum was once a general store that was ran by Charles Hamblin. This general store was formerly opened for the rapid purpose of supplying Henry Flagler with the good he needed to move ahead with his many construction projects, which included the famed Ponce de Leone Hotel that later became Flagler College. The general store was purchased by the Historic Tours of America in the 1908. The development of the general store to the Oldest Store Museum took 3 years to complete. During that time period, it took over 4 months with 3 and a half stores worth of antiques that were removed and placed in a brand new 5,000 square foot with climate-controlled facility built to a warehouse, and the warehouse’s first floor with the items was used as the museum itself. When the Oldest Store Museum development was completed, it was a turn-of-the-century general store that was recreated with the original store counters with the displays and merchandise were rebuilt using the interiors from the original general store.

The Oldest Store Museum, in the historic district of St. Augustine, showcases the items that were once sold during the early 1900s. The Oldest Store Museum has over 100,000 of items that are marked the price they would by sold for in the time era, and there is an extension collection of products from the early 20th century. There are also the “latest” inventions from the early 20th century for visitors to view with going through the museum. These innovations of products range from includes tonics, unicycles, goat-powered washing machine, clothing, which includes shoes, collars, and corsets, dry goods, wagons, corn sheller, guns, and different types of elixirs as well as the worm syrup, grain thresher, and “health underwater.” There is a different type of telephones, farming equipment, and a musical instrument inside the museum as well. The visitors can view these items with at least a few of them can be touch by visitors as well. Overall, there are over 100,000 items inside the museum.

The tour guides and other staff members wear the colonial attire and acts as workers from the early1900s in the Oldest Store Museum to entertain and educate visitors of what life was like during that time era. The tour guides demonstrate the “latest” inventions that were the turn-of-the-century “modern” living in the era. There are three outfits/characters that the tour guides can act as, which are the store clerk, a butcher, and snake-oil salesman.

The Oldest Store Museum has safety and enhanced cleanliness measures in placed because of COVID. These measures include high-touch surfaces are cleaned and disinfected, vehicles and venues are cleaned with disinfectants, hand sanitizer is provided, temperature check are given to staff, and social distancing. The museum is wheelchair accessible, group-friendly, family-friendly, open year-round, has restrooms, and is near the trolley location and parking lot.

Oldest Store Museum, Visit St. Augustine. Accessed February 21th 2021. https://www.visitstaugustine.com/thing-to-do/oldest-store-museum.

The site explains that the museum was started in 1908. It goes on to talk about that the museum looks exactly like the original St. Augustine general store that was ran by C.F. Hamblen. The site mentions that the museum has an extension collection of products that were there in the early 20th century. It talks about that the tour guides play the part of clerks and salesman in the museum. It continues to say that the tour guides demonstrate the “latest” inventions for the turn-of-the-century living like they were in the past. The innovations that were from that time period includes tonics, unicycles, goat-powered washing machine, corsets, corn sheller, different types of elixirs, which includes the worm syrup, grain thresher, and “health underwater” according to the site. This site holds importance to my research because it includes what the tour guides act as and mentions what some things are in the collection.

Oldest Store Museum, St. Augustine Information Guide. Accessed February 21th 2021. https://www.trolleytours.com/st-augustine/oldest-store-museum?utm_source=floridashistoriccoast.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=profile.

The link is the official site for the St. Augustine Trolley Tours, which gives information about the different sites of St. Augustine Historic District. It mentions the Oldest Store Museum started in the 19th and 20th century in effort to preserve and catalog the antiques that hold the history from that time period. It states that it took about four months to move antiques from three and half stores into the museum. It briefly mentions that the museum’s building was purchased by Historic Tours of America. The development of the Oldest Store Museum took over three years, and it has over thousands of objects from St. Augustine’s past on display. The museum’s building was a recreated turn-of-the-century general store with the original look of it. The site holds vital information to my research is that it explains the how the museum was started as well as the appearance of the museum and the reasoning behind it.

Oldest Store Museum Tours and Activities, Viator. Accessed March 15th 2021. https://www.viator.com/St-Augustine-attractions/Oldest-Store-Museum/d823-a16890.

The site gives information about the Oldest Store Museum on the hours of operation, address, and ticket costs for adults and children for the Oldest Store Museum. It also explains that the Oldest Store provides an interactive experience to learn about the history of the area. The site states that the Oldest Store Museum is set up to reflect a store that was during the year of 1900. The sites continue to talk about that the Oldest Store Museum’s tour guides and other staff members would be dressed in the colonial attire as well as playing as a character who had lived over a century ago in order to teach visitors what life was like in St. Augustine in the colonial times. The site mentions that the Oldest Store Museum holds over 100,000 items that visitors may have during the start of the 1900s. All of those items are marked for what they would have been sold for in the 1900.

Oldest Store Experience, St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra, FL. Accessed March 15th 2021. https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/directory/oldest-store-museum-experience-attractions/.

The site is about Florida’s Historic Coast, which is St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra. The site tells the Oldest Store Museum’s information, which is the address, phone number, operation hour, and email, as well as Old Town Trolley Tours of St. Augustine’s Facebook page, Twitter page, and website. The site also states that the Oldest Store Museum is in St. Augustine’s Historic District. It mentions the tour guides and staff are the friendly clerks and snake-oil salesman at the Oldest Store Museum. The site also mentions that the Oldest Store Museum is family-friendly, group-friendly, and open year-round, and has parking, restrooms, and self-guided tours. The site talks about the extensive authentic collection that feel like a Sears and Roebuck catalog came into life, and it continues to state that the collection has everything from tonics and elixirs to a goat-powered washing machine. The site says that the Oldest Store Museum is style to be an old-time General Store in 1908. 

Historic Tours of America. The Oldest Store Museum, Expedia. Accessed March 15th 2021. https://www.expedia.com/things-to-do/the-oldest-store-museum.a246151.activity-details?endDate=2021-03-29&location=St.%20Augustine%2C%20Florida%2C%20United%20States%20of%20America&rid=10200&startDate=2021-03-15.

The site gives the Oldest Store Museum’s available dates, location, operation hours, ticket prices, cleaning procedures, and the reviews it was given. The site mentions it’s a guided tour with live narration in English as well as that it is wheel chair accessible and that children 5 and younger get in free. It mentions that the Oldest Store Museum has unusual inventions such as the goat-powered washing machine and gas-powered iron. The site continues to mention that the Oldest Store Museum has over 100,000 items in stock with many of those items from the original C.F. Hamblin General Store. The items included a 1-hole corn shucker, bicycles, farming equipment, telephones, and a musical instrument from the early 20th century. The site continues to state that the tour guides act as a lively, informative store clerk, a butcher, and/or a snake-oil salesman and with them combining history and humor to visitors while the visitors see a glimpse into life in the early 20th century.